Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane Announces Details Of Debut Album 'Music Is Better Than Words'
Monday, 20 February 2012
Written by Jon Stickler
Multi-Emmy-winning Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane will release his debut album on 22nd May 2012. Entitled 'Music Is Better Than Words', the album sees MacFarlane singing some of the hidden gems of the ‘40s and ‘50s big band era and features duets with Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles.
The creative force behind Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, a franchise with an estimated worth of approximately $2 billion, TV producer and actor Seth MacFarlane’s work has garnered four Emmys and seven Emmy nominations, including one in the Outstanding Comedy Series category. MacFarlane is also currently working on his directorial feature film debut, TED, which will star Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg, and is producing The Flintstones, a 21st century version of the classic animated comedy.
A music enthusiast, MacFarlane is known as one of the few showrunners in Hollywood who utilizes a complete orchestra on a weekly basis to score his shows. An experienced live performer, having played to sold out audiences at the Royal Albert Hall and New York's Carnegie Hall, MacFarlane voices many of his shows’ various characters and sings on almost all the musical numbers. His voice has been celebrated for its phrasing, richness and consistency, and he jumped at the chance to record his own album. "It's rare in this day and age to have the opportunity to create an album that celebrates the classic, sophisticated sound of rich, lush swing orchestrations. It was an absolute joy to sing this music.”
The album was recorded in the Capitol Records Recording Studio where Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Rosemary Clooney and many others recorded albums and was made with MacFarlane singing live in the same room as the orchestra, just as they did in the ‘50s. Additionally, Frank Sinatra’s original microphone nicknamed “The Frank”, on loan from the Smithsonian, was used to record the album, and all songs were recorded to analog tape, to match the warm sound of the historic records of that era.
The tracks on the album were handpicked by MacFarlane to highlight the work of legendary songwriters such as Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe. In addition to a number of showtunes, the album features some original material, including the song 'She’s Wonderful Too' written by film and television composer Joel McNeely for an episode of the popular TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Composed as a short piece for the show, MacFarlane and McNeely (with the blessing of George Lucas) composed additional lyrics and melodies to make a more complete song.
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